The year started of with two poor performances by the Bangladesh batsman in the two test matches against new zealand baring the good opening partnerships by Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique who both made 50's in there first tests. The rest of the batting led by Habibal Basher and Mohammad Ashraful was pathetic as they struggled to cope with the moving ball in the early new zealand winter with batsman such as Aftab and Basher looking way short of test quality

South Africa In Bangladesh

Back on home soil the batsman look more comfortable but still were weak outside the of stump as Jamie Siddons started to relise the mounting that he would have to climb in order to get the Bangladesh batsman playing proper test cricket and starting to build big scores. The test match proved to be fairly close with Bangladesh posting a competitive i'st innings of 192 on a difficult wicket with Afbab, Nafees and Ashraful all getting starting before throwing there wicket away particularly Ashraful who was out playing an attacking shot in the last over before lunch which highlighted the lack of tactile thinking that the Bangladesh batsman have in there game. In the second innings led by Junaid who showed great Patience and improvement by leaving the ball out side off stump scored a well made 74 ably supported by Aftab who tried to fight his way to make runs by playing defensively. The rest of the batsman could not handle the pace of Steyn who proved to quick by bowling full and straight. This was Bashers last test and it was sad to see a shadow of a man who was the greatest ever run scorer struggle so badly before departing for ICL

In the second test on a flat track in Chittagong the Bangladesh batsman once again through away good starts with 9 batsman making double figures and not showing the needed discipline with Nafees scoring 69 and Shakib a well made 40 before nicking outside the off stump. In the second innings the batsman were blown away by the pace of Styen with question marks being placed around Rahim's neck after no runs in the first two series along with our skipper Ashraful

In conclusion a tough battle against the worlds best pace attack showed the our batsman had the talent but not the discipline and it is that which Siddons had to try and drill into our players minds

New Zealand Tour Of Bangladesh

Bangladesh felt that they could take advantage of a much changed New Zealand team who had little experience of playing in the sub continent. In the first test with Rajin Saleh and Nadeem Islam brought into the side the batsman showed great grit in the first innings on a poor pitch as the batted over 122 overs and showed great application which credit has to go to Siddons for, Merhab Hossian who many had great doubts about as a test class player lead the way with a skillful 83 backed up by the calm Rahim 79 posted a competitive 245 with the only concerns being a woefully out of form Ashraful. In the second innings whilst trying to set a big target as the pitch started to get easier the top order collapsed to Daniel Verttori who outfoxed the Bangladesh batsman with his experience. It was left to the lower order of Rahim 32 and Shakib 71 to bail to side out of a difficult position through a combination of grit as extravagant stroke play along with a quickfire 44 by the bating enigma Mortaza to set the kiwis a target of 317 which did not prove enough.

In the second test rain proved the winner as the first 3 days were washed out through rain. When the batsman did get a chance they once again crumbled to Vettori with Ashraful and Siddique once again not contributing and it was once again left to the plucky Shakib to help Bangladesh avoid the follow on with a fluent 49 and was well supported by Mortaza 44 as they secured a rare draw

In conclusion a much improved performance which a notably improvement of discipline outside the off stump which showed that Siddons had started to get his message across. But the top order failed and to often Shakib and Rahim had to bail to side out

Bangladesh In South Africa

This series showed that Bangladesh are along way from being able to compete away from home as they were brushed aside by a powerful south African unit. In first test with a regiged batting order as Imrul keys was brought in and Siddique moved down to number 3. The first innings was a nightmare as all the top order batsman were out caught in the slip/gully area when playing away from there body with only Rahim 48 offering any resistance, the story was much the same in the second innings with only Merhab 43 and Siddique looking anywhere near comfortable as the top order again crumbled to top class pace led by our captain Ashraful.

A better effort was shown in the second test with a first innings total of 250 with improved application in the way the only attacked the bad balls with Siddique playing a quality knock of 67 with the ever improving Rahim scoring a quick 65 as he batted with the tail, Imrul continued to struggle with his baptism of fire and Ashraful was starting to run out of chances. Bangladesh as so often were blown away in the second innings with the only positive being the debutant Raqibal Hasan showing that he had a good temperament for test cricket as 3 careless run outs destroyed our middle order just before lunch with Ashraful being responsible for 2 of them.

In conclusion a waste of a tour with the batting being as bad as i can remember with none of them bar Rahim and Siddique placing any value on their wicket

Sir Lanka In Bangladesh

The last test of the year proved to produce the best batting innings as the batsman grew in confidence and led by there captain Ashraful relasied that if the knuckled down thery were capable of scoring big runs at test level. In the first innings all the top 8 made double figures but no one got past 33 but Imrul and Tamim showed promise at the top of the order as Siddique showed that number 3 could be the place for him. In the second innings it looked like the same old story at 180-5 as the top 5 batsman all made double figures and then gave it away. But Ashraful 103 and Shakib 96 together lifted the side as the target of 521 seemed possible, a combination of attack and defensive along with playing each ball on merit as the managed to combat Murili as Shakib added to his growing reputation and Ashraful possibly saved his test career with an innings which we all new that he was capable of playing

Summery Of Batsman (Test Matches)

Tamim Iqbal - A year full of promise and frustration as he burst onto the scene with 2 50's in his first test but on the whole he struggled to convert starts as he consistently made 20's and 30's but could not go on, often choosing to play the wrong shot at the wrong moment, he must improve his play against spin.

Imul Kayes - Thrown in at the deep end in south Africa where he struggled but showed promise in the last test of the year against sirlanka, is a compact player but needs to improve his foot work when driving, will have 2 more series i think to try and cement his place

Junaid Siddique - A topys turby year for Junaid, when this guy is playing well he looks very elegant but when hes out of form he looks all full to watch particularly against the short ball, but he made 3 50's the joint most and since being moved down to number 3 looks more assured as he plays spin well. Needs to kick on in 2009 and be a consistent run scorer, is one of the few players who places a value on his wicket

Raqibal Hasan - Only played two tests so far so it is to early to make a judgment but looks a compact player and is the kind of sensible controlled batsman we need in the middle order.

Mohammad Ashraful - Surly the most frustrating player in world cricket, an horrible year for ash baring his 100 against sirlanka as he continues to throw away his talent. averaging 16 is not good enough simple as that and he needs to find some consistency soon or he will be dropped. Continues for some unknown reason to drive in the air through the covers with fielders paced in that area for that exact shot.
Merhab Hossian Jr - Seemed to of cemented his place in the middle order this year, one major score against New Zealand, keeps on trying to hit the spinners over the top and is often out that way, has showed promise by playing the ball into gaps but needs to keep the ball along the ground, 2009 will be a make or break year as his long term future is not secure.
Shakib Al Hasan - Scored the most runs this year and constistantly got starts with lots of 40's and has proved that he is one of the worlds leading all rounders and is worth his place in the side as a batsman. Has eliminated his flashes outside of stump and is always looking for runs in a controlled fashion. i think he should be left at number 7 so we do not overburden him with responsibility. A great sweeper and player of spin should aim in 2009 to convert his starts in big runs.

Mushfiquer Rahim - A tale of two half to this year a poor tour of new zealand and home series against south Africa saw him dropped in the shorter version of the game but came back with great promise against new zealand and sirlanka scoring 3 half century often to help save his side, has a great temperament and once again showed by scoring runs against Vettori and Murli that he is a top class player of top class spin. May be pushed up the order in 2009 to accommodate an extra bowler i think the side needs to bat around this man.

Shahrier Nafees - The end of an era as nafees departed Bangladesh cricket for good his last innings of note being 69 against south africa, a player with much promise but always failed to deliver against the top sides, i don't think he will be missed to much.

Aftab Ahmed - Archived nothing this year as a test batsman like his whole career, will be missed in the odi's but his departure enabled players like Raqibal and Junied to come in to the side.

Habibal Basher - A great servant to Bangladesh cricket and still the leading run scorer, heartbreaking to leave the way he did after being so out of form forcing him to be dropped, a good leader and a good servant but unfortunately just lost his way

Rajin Saleh - Two tests against new zealand after scoring runs in domestic cricket, i still feel that he has something to give to Bangladesh cricket but needs to rotate the strike more, needs to score big runs in the ncl to force the selectors hands.
Nadeem Islam - Two tests but for me not a test player but could be usefull in the ODI's, not techniqly good enough with either bat or ball

Masharafe Mortaza - Talented but frustrating, played a couple of good knocks of 44 still lacks consistency and belief that he can do it day in day out, cannot handle pace bowling

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20.4 Mashrafe Mortaza to Vaughan, OUT beauty! pitched in line and moving away late, Vaughan had no option but to play at it, ends up with a decent edge straight to the keeper, Mortaza strikes again!

LOL that Abdur Razzak got the best average and also that Ash is the only one to score a century but also the leading duck-makers. But Shakib (mostly) and Tamim (quite) have got to be the players of the year.

LOL, bro don't get me wrong, just saying for fun that one of your sub-heading read, ''Sir Lanka in Bangladesh''; Just wondering who's Sir Lanka?......LOL.......and ye, post is great, good collection work bro!

Originally Posted by LateCut
He cannot bowl for chucking but he can bat. Let's get AR in the team as a specialist batsman.

I believe Abdur Razzak is a very talented batsman and can score runs in both versions. If ever needed, I believe he can come up the order and bat. Though, he must come back to the ODI squad soon as a bowler because we are probably going to need him there.

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Reporter: You could hit the first ball for 4 couldn't you?
Tamim: Ha, I could hit the first ball for 6, that's not a problem.